Proposed Egyptian constitution would limit media freedom

New York, December 4, 2012--The proposed
Egyptian constitution would impose several new restrictions on press freedom--including
the creation of a new government regulator and new governmental authority to shut
media outlets--while doing nothing to halt the criminal prosecution of
journalists, which was a hallmark of the Hosni Mubarak regime, the Committee to
Protect Journalists said today. CPJ supports the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate's
call to President Mohamed Morsi to withdraw the proposal from the referendum
scheduled for December 15.

The Egyptian Constitutional Committee
approved a draft of the constitution
on Saturday. Local and international press freedom organizations including CPJ have
found that the document places severe restrictions on freedom of expression
while claiming to guarantee free speech. Other civil society groups have raised
concerns about the proposal's lack of protection for minority rights and
freedoms.

"We support the
right of journalists to seek protection under this new constitution," said
CPJ's Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour. "We call
on President Mohamed Morsi to work with civil society and press freedom groups
to craft a constitution that truly guarantees freedom of expression and
eliminates restrictions in the current draft."

Although Article
45 says broadly that "freedom of thought and opinion shall be guaranteed" in
the constitution, several articles appear to contradict the provision,
including Article 44, which prohibits "the insulting of prophets." Under the
current penal code, the government can prosecute critics like blogger Alber
Saber, who has faced trial since September for "insulting the religion" and
"insulting the president."

Article 215
replaces the Higher Council for Journalism, an elected body of journalists, with
the National Media Council and government appointees, which is required to "establish
controls and regulations that ensure the commitment of the media to adhere to
professional and ethical standards" and "to observe the values and constructive
traditions of society." CPJ believes that this vaguely defined mandate would
give the new government agency the
authority to control and guide editorial coverage and news.

Article 48
allows a court to shut down a media outlet if a judicial review finds an
employee of the outlet has not respected the provisions of the article,
including "respecting the sanctity of the private lives of citizens and the
requirements of national security."

Article 216
announces the creation of an agency called the National Press and Media
Association that would manage state-owned media outlets. The article does not
specify how the members would be selected or offer details on how the agency
would ensure the media would adhere to "sensible, professional, administrative,
and economic standards." Local journalists fear this agency could end up
serving the Muslim Brotherhood party, similar to how the Shura Council in July appointed
members of the Muslim Brotherhood to leadership positions in media outlets.

The proposed
constitution does nothing to halt the practice of imprisoning journalists for
press-related offenses, despite the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate repeatedly
asking the constitutional committee to include such a provision. Under the
current penal code, journalists can be criminally prosecuted for defamation,
like Egyptian TV commentator Tawfiq Okasha, who was given a jail term for
defamation in October, according to CPJ research.

Local press
freedom organizations, including the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, announced
a press strike today to protest the bill, news reports said. Several private
newspapers, including Al-Watan, Al-Tahrir, Youm7, and Al-Wafd, ran
blank front pages on Monday with the headline "No to dictatorship," news
reports said. News accounts also reported that several local TV outlets have
announced a strike tomorrow to protest the constitution.

Thousands of
demonstrators protested in front of the presidential palace today, demanding
that the referendum be postponed until a new constitution had been drafted,
news reports said.